Is our national security at risk?

In the end, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government had no choice — it had to invoke the Emergencies Act.

Perhaps the Liberal government was responding to a crisis of its own doing.

Perhaps if the federal government had responded earlier to the occupation of Canada’s capital city, this thing could have been nipped in the bud.

Perhaps the costly border closures in Windsor and Alberta could have been avoided entirely. Perhaps…

But for whatever reason, they weren’t. Whether the cause was happenstance or incompetence is immaterial. In the end, the government was left with no choice. If Canada was to protect its sovereignty, it had to adopt drastic measures.

These include measures designed to financially punish those who the government believes are breaking the law by their participation in blockades.

Much attention is being paid to the long-running occupation of downtown Ottawa. But the border blockades in places such as Windsor and Fort Erie are much more important.

These have threatened Canada’s ability to protect its own borders.

Leaving the decision on enforcing border laws to private citizens is to surrender Canada’s sovereignty over such laws. And ultimately those surrendered powers will be picked up by whatever government along the border is left standing — which in most cases means the U.S. government.

In short, if Canada is to present itself as a power along the U.S. border, it will have to demonstrate to Washington its ability to exercise control over cross-border trucking.

Invoking the Emergencies Act is an effective way to make that point. It leaves no question as to who is in charge.

Trudeau also tries to justify his use of extraordinary powers by arguing that his critics are dangerous right-wingers.

He may be right about this in some cases. The convoy protesters do include people with backgrounds in hard-right politics.

It has been reported that some of the funding for the protests comes from Americans.

But ultimately, the motives of the convoy protesters are immaterial. What is important is the effect of the Emergencies Act. Will invoking it restore Canada’s control over its own cities and borders?

If so, then it will be a success. If not…

In the meantime, the political turmoil unleashed by this series of anti-mandate protests rolls on. Some of those involved in an Alberta protest face weapons charges.

In Ottawa, protesters are preparing for a confrontation with police. Things are looking very dodgy. On Highway 401, convoy protesters tried briefly to foment another blockade. Police turned them back.

Ultimately, however, the decision to invoke this far-reaching law will be judged by only one criterion: Did it work?

If it ends the blockades it will be judged a success. If it does not, it will join the litany of failure that surrounds attempts to end this socalled “Freedom Convoy” protest.